Bill to ban cell phone use while driving may die in Senate

Senate President Therese Murray said today there is no interest in the bill in the Senate.

By DAN RING
dring@repub.com

BOSTON - A bill to ban people from holding cell phones or sending text messages while driving may die in the state Senate this year.

Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, said today there is no interest in the bill in the Senate. She said that the bill is not a high priority for her and that she has not given it much thought.

The House in January voted 107-47 to approve the bill, but the bill will also need approval of the Senate to make it to the desk of Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

No discussion on bill

Murray said there has been no discussion on the bill, which is opposed by the Senate chairman of the Transportation Committee.

"I haven't given it any thought," Murray said in an interview. "No one has asked me for it, so it's not something that is at the top of my radar."

The House bill allows adult drivers to use headsets, speaker phones or other "hands free" technology.

The bill would ban 16- and 17-year-old drivers from using cell phones or other electronic mobile devices, regardless of hands-free technology. Murray said she didn't think it would be a bad idea to prohibit such teens from using cell phones while driving, but she would need to look at the bill.

Wagner says law is needed

Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee, a key architect of the House bill, said there's been a proliferation of drivers holding and talking on their cell phones while driving.

Wagner, the House chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation, said he hopes the bill is approved in the Senate.

Wagner said it's a distraction for drivers to use cell phones, and he's backed up by statistics from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Wagner said the bill is needed to improve safety on the roads and save lives.

According to the Registry, the use of a cell phone was a contributing factor in about 2 percent of accidents statewide with more than $1,000 damage. A cell phone was a factor in 453 such crashes in 2005 and 434 in 2006.

Transportation chairman opposes bill

Sen. Steven A. Baddour, D-Methuen, the Senate chairman of the Transportation Committee, said he opposes the bill because the issue is distracted driving, which can be caused by a number of things, even using hands-free technology.

He said it's wrong to single out cell phones.

"Every independent study that I've seen ... says it's not the holding of the cell phone that causes the problem," he said. "It's the distraction of not paying attention."

Baddour said he prefers that the bill die without coming to the Senate floor for a vote. If it does come to a vote, he said he will argue against it.